And now, for something completely different

What follows is macaroni with a twist. Macaroni for the young at heart, the adventurous, and those who got a high score for openness on the Big Five Personality Test.

I got the recipe from Table for Two by Joanne Stepaniak.

You'll need:

1 cup elbow macaroni
1 10-oz package frozen mixed vegetables
3 T whole wheat flour
3 T nutritional yeast flakes (I know. I balked at this, too. But they smell good, are vegetarian, and are high in B vitamins and protein. You can get them in the vitamin/nutritional supplement aisle at Whole Body, the place adjacent to Whole Foods.)
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 t garlic granules (dried minced garlic. I know, I usually use fresh too.)
1/4 t salt
1/8 t ground black pepper
1 cup water
4 t tahini
1 small, ripe tomato, sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Coat a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Boil the macaroni, adding the frozen mixed vegetables during the last 3-5 minutes of cooking. Drain.
3. To make a creamy sauce, combine the flour, yeast flakes, oregano, garlic granules, salt and pepper in a 1-qt saucepan. Stir them together until they are well combined. Gradually whisk in the water, stirring briskly until the mixture is smooth.
4. Place the saucepan over medium heat, and cook the sauce, stirring almost constantly with a wire whisk, until it is thickened and bubbly. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and whisk in the tahini.
5. Stir the hot sauce into the pasta mixture and toss until evenly coated.
6. Spoon the mixture into the casserole dish. Bake for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the casserole from the oven, top with tomato slices, and bake for 5 more minutes. Serve hot.